My eyes slowly opened. I gathered myself and looked around the room. I spotted a clock which said the time
was 8:12 AM. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but I didn't feel tired anymore. I looked at Myrintha next to me
and she was still asleep. I rose from the bed slowly so as not to wake her up. I quietly crept out of the
room.
I walked back into the main room of the penthouse. All was quiet and I did not spot anyone else. Evidently
they had all retired to the bedrooms. I felt pretty certain that Thigersa and Stephgress were in a room
together, but I couldn't guess about the others. I was a little concerned about Bozantum right now. If that
had been him opening the door last night, and I felt it was, he might be hurt.
Fortunately I would not have to wait long to find out. I heard the sound of someone swimming in the pool. It
was Bozantum. I walked out to the pool and sat on the edge of it. I let my feet and leg dip into the water.
It was perfect temperature, not too cold and not too warm. Since he seemed to be swimming intensely, I did
not interrupt him and waited for him to notice me.
A few minutes later he became aware of my presence. He swam over to me and said, "Good morning, my goddess."
"Is it a good morning for you?" I asked with concern.
"Of course it is," he answered. "It feels great to be alive. It feels great to swim."
"But was it a good night last night?" I asked.
"Not entirely," he said. He looked away from me and stared at the horizon. "I was disappointed that I didn't
get to spend the night with you."
"So that was you at the door?" I asked. He nodded. "I am sorry if that hurt you," I said.
He looked back at me. "You are my goddess," he said. "You must do what you must do. I do not matter unless
you say I do."
"No, no," I said. "No, Bozantum, you always matter. Always. I love everyone in our group, but you matter to
me more than anyone."
"Even Myrintha?" he asked skeptically.
"Even her," I confirmed. "She's my best friend. She goes before all others...except you." He did not say
anything. "Do you doubt me?" I asked.
"I could never doubt what you say to me, my goddess," he answered. "I would be lying to you if I told you I
did not feel jealous, however."
I sighed. If I had been in his position, I'm sure I'd feel the same way. But I was determined to have it my
way. "My dear Bozantum, please know that I cannot let myself be tied to any one person. I need to do what I
feel is right. I do not expect you to tie yourself to me, either. I encourage you to do what you feel is
right."
"Thank you, my goddess," he said.
I was perplexed by this response. It didn't seem a natural reply to what I had just said to him. "What do
you mean?" I asked.
"Thank you for forgiving me," he said. He could not look at me as he said this.
I still wasn't sure what he meant. What did I say that he could interpret as forgiveness? Why did he even
need my forgiveness? Why couldn't he look me in the eyes all of a sudden. Slowly it dawned upon me. He must
have gone to bed with someone else. "Oh, my, Bozantum," I finally said. "You did something without me
telling you to. And you thought I was going to be mad at you for it." I kept myself from laughing as I
sensed that would make him feel worse. "Who was it?" I asked.
Finally he looked at me again and replied, "Jucodon."
I was a little surprised. I honestly didn't think he'd go for another one of the guys so quickly. But I had
planted the suggestion in his mind. Perhaps he'd felt he was obligated to find out. "Really?" I said. He
nodded again. "What did you think?"
"It was different," he replied.
"Of course it was," I said. "Did you like it? Don't be ashamed to tell me how you really felt, even if you
think it will upset me."
"I didn't like it as much as when I'm with you," he said. "But I did like it."
This information actually made me quite happy. "So you are bi-sexual after all," I said. "Bozantum, this
makes me so happy to hear you say this."
"Happy?" he asked with surprise.
"Of course," I said. "I just told you that I want you to do what you feel is right. You don't have to worry
about me being angry with you. But I'm glad to know that you're bi-sexual. I'm hoping that everyone in our
group will end up being the same way. So far, I'm pretty sure we all are except for Thigersa and Stephgress,
but I'll let them take their time with that."
"I understand," he said. He smile at me. "It does me good to know you are not angry with me."
I gently stroked his cheek. "Never," I said. With that I slid forward from my seated position and dropped
myself into the pool. I let my body go completely underwater. It felt so refreshing. When I emerged I
looked at Bozantum and said, "Let's get reacquainted, shall we?"